Liquid crystal device and a method for producing it having directly controllable dynamic surface-director alignment layer

A method for producing a liquid crystal device, comprising:

• providing two confining substrates;
• sandwiching a liquid crystal bulk layer between said two confining substrates, said bulk layer presenting a surface director at a bulk surface thereof, wherein an orthogonal projection of said surface director on said substrates, termed projected surface director, presents a preferred orientation in a geometrical plane parallel to said substrates, termed preferred in-plane orientation;
• and
• providing a surface-director alignment layer on an inner surface of at least one of said substrates for interacting with the bulk layer at said bulk surface, said surface-director alignment layer being a dynamic alignment layer directly controllable by an applied electric field to perform an in-plane switching in the dynamic alignment layer for accomplishing, as a direct consequence of this in-plane switching and the interaction at the bulk surface, an in-plane switching of said preferred in-plane orientation of the projected surface director.

A liquid crystal device including:

• at least one confining substrate,
• a liquid crystal bulk layer presenting a surface director at a bulk surface;
• and
• a surface-director alignment layer, which is permanently attached to said confining substrate and thereby insoluble in the bulk layer and which is arranged to interact with the bulk layer at said bulk surface,
• said surface-director alignment layer being a dynamic alignment layer directly controllable by an applied electric field to perform a switching in the dynamic alignment layer for accomplishing, as a direct consequence of this switching and the interaction at said bulk surface, a switching of said surface director of the bulk layer.

A liquid crystal device including:

• at least one confining substrate,
• a liquid crystal bulk layer presenting a surface director at a bulk surface;
• and
• a surface-director alignment layer, which comprises a chiral smectic liquid crystal material and which is arranged to interact with the bulk layer at said bulk surface,
• said surface-director alignment layer being a dynamic alignment layer directly controllable by an applied electric field to perform a switching in the dynamic alignment layer for accomplishing, as a direct consequence of this switching and the interaction at said bulk surface, a switching of said surface director of the bulk layer.